Alice of Human Sacrifice
by xSakuraBlossom
Summary: The madness of the dream will never end. Based on the Vocaloid song of the same name. Rated M for Chapter 4. No pairings, unless you squint.
1. Chapter 1

_Where am I?_

She looks around, squinting in the strong light. She's in a field, one that seems to expand far past her vision and continue endlessly into the distance.

Everything is exactly the same no matter where she looks. Endless field as far as the eye can see. Strangely vibrant colors, overly bright, as though everything is fake, or perhaps from a cartoon.

It's boring. Lip curling slightly, she flops down onto her back, choosing to stare at the sky instead.

Now, this is something she could be interested in. The clouds are almost cartoon-like, their shape far too defined to be a trick of nature. Even as she watches, the clouds drift into formation, forming words.

_Welcome, Alice._

Alice? That's not her name. Obviously, the clouds are crazy. But that in its own way is interesting.

_Welcome to Wonderland._

She ponders this for a while. Wonderland? Where's that? She's never heard of it before.

As though reading her thoughts, the clouds answer her questions.

_This is a land made especially for you. You may go where you please, you may do what you wish._

It sounds like heaven. She has never wanted anything but freedom like this. But there has to be a catch. Somewhere, there has to be a catch.

_There is no catch. If you don't like what you have done, just start over. This world will always be waiting._

_Enjoy your stay in Wonderland, Alice._

And with that, the clouds dissipate into nothing.

"If I don't like what I've done… start over? Sounds like a lame video game." This is the first time she's spoken out loud in this strange place. Despite her words, she can't help but feel some excitement. She can go where she wants. She can do what she pleases. She can talk to who she wants, when she wants-

And that's when she realizes she is completely alone.

Her thoughts grind to a halt as she comes to terms with this. She has never been alone in her life. And yet, she is alone now.

Should she be scared?

She smiles slowly, confidently. No, she is not scared.

Because being alone is being free.

She sits up, stretching her limbs leisurely. Out of the corner of her eye, she spots something, which is strange, since she remembers that there was nothing there before.

Less than a meter away is a sword, gleaming in the sunlight. It's been stabbed into the ground, as though just waiting for her to take it up.

She stands, and wrenches the sword out of the ground. She inspects it closely.

Even knowing nothing about weapons, she knows this is a fine one. The metal is shiny and even, the same gleaming silver all over. The blade is double-edged, the edges curving into a pointed tip. The hilt fits her small palm perfectly, as though it was made for her. She hefts the sword, noting that it's also the perfect length for her.

She swings it experimentally. She has no idea how to use this thing. But it's fun to try. She's always wanted to be able to wield a weapon like those action heroes on TV.

To her surprise, the sword seems to have a mind of its own, and gently guides her through the movements. She blinks.

She should be startled, really. What if the sword is possessed or something? What if it will turn on her eventually?

But somehow, she's not frightened at all. At least this is something interesting, compared to the boring occurrences in her ordinary life. Besides, it's a sword! Who doesn't like swords?

Rin grins as she spins freely with the sword. She looks around again, wondering if anything else has changed. Her eyes immediately focus on a patch of forest only a few hundred meters away.

It's kind of nice that the scenery changes whenever she gets bored. A smirk growing on her face, she begins to walk towards the forest.

The darkness of the trees is a welcome change from the glaring sunlight. She sighs in relief, not realizing that the sun had been bothering her so much. Her lips twist into a grin.

It seems that she is far more suited to darkness.

Humming happily, she starts to stride through the forest, swinging her sword. The more she uses it, the more comfortable it seems to feel in her hand. She begins to have some fun, twirling and slashing like those action heroes she used to watch on TV.

There's a sick, wet thud, and she pauses, glancing at where her sword is.

A rabbit, a tiny, cute, white rabbit, at the base of a tree, is bleeding.

Not just bleeding, but… more like gushing blood. There's a huge gash across its belly. If she thinks logically about the actual girth of a rabbit, it's quite possible it's been completely bisected.

But she's not too worried about the rabbit right now. It's just a rabbit, after all.

She's far more interested in her sword.

It's branched a bit. Now, instead of the single straight blade, near the base, there's an attachment. Another, smaller blade, splitting off at an angle.

She stares at it. It reminds her of her split ends in a way. Fighting the odd urge to laugh, she continues on her way.

It's a quiet forest. There aren't any other creatures she has seen. It's an unnatural quiet, as though something- or someone- has taken every living thing away, leaving only the trees to mourn silently.

But she doesn't mind the silence. It's kind of nice. It's a welcome change to her, to one who has always been surrounded by noise. The darkness, too. She's always been in the light, but now she finds that she loves the dark.

And of course, there's the other fact that there's no people around. How had she not noticed how much she hated people before? Now that there is nobody, she feels at peace. She can go where she pleases, do what she wishes.

And for right now, she wants nothing but to wander in this sanctuary, this sanctuary from sound, light, and humanity, for a little while longer.

Unfortunately, that seems to be something this place cannot grant her.

A young woman appears before her, holding a basket full of fruits and vegetables. Her short red hair shines in a well-placed ray of sun, and she is friendly and open. She smiles and begins talking.

Noise. Human. She wants to be alone. Why isn't she alone?

Enraged, she swings the sword at the nuisance. Stupid woman. Desecrating her holy sanctuary. Even now, she is spilling red blood all over the peaceful green forest floor, red like that lovely hair she has.

See? Other humans ruin everything, even the scenery.

She leaves the body behind her, never noticing that her sword has grown another prong.

* * *

She is growing tired of seeing other things in her forest.

What happened to the lovely silence? What happened to the wonderful darkness? What happened to the peaceful loneliness?

These people took it all away from her. She scowls. She wants her sanctuary back.

Her sword has grown even more now. With six prongs, it has become even more lethal than before. But it's missing something.

Somewhere, somehow, the tip has gone missing.

She frowns. It looks incomplete now. She doesn't like it. It doesn't look right.

Even as she contemplates this, two young kids appear before her. The girl seems uneasy, hanging slightly behind her brother as he leads the way.

She doesn't think, just swings.

The girl staggers back, staring at the boy who has just fallen. She looks up, fear in her eyes, before running away.

As she withdraws her sword, she notices with satisfaction that it has its tip now. It looks right. It looks complete (1).

It looks like it's glowing.

Her eyes widen. All seven tips of the blade- the main one plus the six branches- suddenly light with a strange flame. She doesn't understand. What is this weird light?

Without warning, they flare, sending streaks of bright light across her vision. She shrieks, dropping the sword and covering her eyes.

When she opens them again, she's caged in light. The sword is a mere meter before her, stabbed into the ground as it was when she first found it. The six tips still showing are still glowing brightly, forming the bars of light surrounding her.

She screams in fury, trying to reach the sword, but the light burns her skin when she touches it. Unwilling to give up, she starts digging at the ground, only to hit a sheet of light just below the surface.

She is trapped. Trapped in light. She hates the light.

She shuts her eyes, trying to escape the light, but it doesn't work, it's too bright, the light is too much, and she hates it, she hates it, she hates it-

* * *

_"Rin! Time to wake up!"_

_Her eyes snapped open, and she groaned at the bright light piercing her eyes. Of course. There was a crack in the blinds, and of course the sunlight was shining right on her eyes. No wonder her dream had been full of hatred for light._

_She glanced at the clock. 7 AM. Time to get up and go to school. She sighed, stretching on her bed. _

_That was a strange dream._

_Yawning, she ran a hand through her hair as she clambered out of bed, stumbling towards the bathroom. As she did so, she passed by Len, who glanced at her oddly._

_"Hey, did you sleep well last night?" he asked, still scrutinizing her closely. "You look... tired."  
_

_She shrugged, not willing to share her dream with him just yet. "Really? I don't know, I slept pretty well though. I don't think I've ever slept so well actually."_

_Well, it was partially true. Right until the very end of her dream, at least._

_Len continued to stare at her as she continued into the washroom._

_She shut the door behind her, then turned to stare into the mirror._

_Her eyes, a bright aqua, stared back at her, peering through a mop of disheveled blonde hair._

_Even her own reflection was too bright for her._

_See? Too much light. Too much noise. Too many people._

_Her dream world had been so much better than this. There, everything was perfect. Or at least, she had been able to make it perfect._

_Something had gone wrong though._

_But the dream had said she could try again, right? And it had said that it would always be there for her._

_She smiled, even as she pinned her hair back and began to prepare for her day at school._

_She couldn't wait to go back to her dream world._

* * *

(1): The "complete" form of the sword is that of the Seven Branched Sword.

A/N: Yet another interpretation of Alice of Human Sacrifice. Sorry, this idea has been eating at my brain for a while now.

Sorry for the confusing use of pronouns, I wanted it to be unclear who the first Alice was (since it's supposed to be Meiko), but that means that sometimes it's hard to see who I'm referring to as "she". As for the tense switch halfway through, that was pretty much to emphasize the switch from dream world to reality.

Next chapter, as you may have surmised, will be the second Alice. What will Rin do now…?


	2. Chapter 2

_Welcome, Alice. Welcome to Wonderland._

Rin stares at the blue, blue sky, and watches as the words repeat themselves. It's the same message she saw last time.

Tuning it out, she thinks gleefully about how she is going to spend this sojourn into Wonderland.

Obviously, killing people isn't allowed. That was made obvious by that cage of light. Rin shivers at the memory.

But Rin still wants to be alone. How is she going to manage that?

Well, she could always just sit down here. But here is boring. She wants to explore.

But exploring means there's probably going to be people. She explored a forest last time, and there were people there. So she will probably have to deal with people at some point or another. She doesn't want that, though. There has to be a way to prevent other people from coming near her.

She knows that people sometimes leave her alone if she's annoying enough. So, she will be so annoying that nobody will ever want to come near her.

She begins to sing, softly at first, then louder. She likes singing. She likes silence more, but if there must be sound, it should be a voice in song.

But most people seem to disagree. Her parents hate it when she sings. Her brother is ok with it, but he always leaves after a while. Singing seems to be something that bothers a lot of people.

She's certain that nobody will come near her now. Still singing, she starts to walk in no particular direction.

This time, the field melts into a town. She frowns, even as she continues to sing.

A town means people. And she doesn't want people.

She sings louder, hoping that the people will be so annoyed that they will avoid her. But as she starts to walk through the formerly deserted streets, people start to appear. They peek out of windows. They lean out of doors. Everyone is watching as she sings.

Rin's lip curls. She hates people like this. Overly curious, always watching others, staring at people who are doing something different. Why couldn't they just leave her alone?

She sings a sharp note, the cacophonous sound tearing apart the melody she had been weaving. Hoping the dissonance is enough to send people away, Rin continues to walk.

Just how big is this town anyways? She's been walking for so long, and the town shows no sign of dissipating into anything else. But then, she had wandered in the forest last time for much longer. Maybe the scenery can't change more than once?

And the people are still there.

Obviously, the single misplaced note isn't enough. If anything, even more people are watching now. Rin wants them to all just disappear. Why won't they just leave?

Irritated now, she hits several off-key notes in sequence, knowing that's one of the most annoying things to her. But the people barely flinch.

She blinks.

Then she realizes that they've been following her this entire time. She's been singing out loud, which is something that most people she knows hates. She's been singing off-key, which is something everyone hates.

But these people aren't leaving. They're staying. And they're listening to every sound she makes.

It's an audience she's never had before.

All of a sudden, she doesn't hate people so much any more. It's kind of nice having people actually appreciate her talent for once- even if she had been misusing it for a while. Maybe if they're not bothering her, people aren't so bad after all.

A smile on her face now, Rin turns and continues singing, knowing that she has an entire town following her as she walks through the town.

Of course, now that she wants the town to continue, it quickly melts into a beach. Disappointed, Rin pauses in her singing to glance behind her.

She half expects there to be emptiness behind her, but the people are still there, still staring at her expectantly. Behind them, she can still see the town, though it's further than she thought. And behind that, somewhere in the very, very far distance, she can see a glimpse of the forest.

She's surprised at how far she can see, actually. Her eyesight's never been the best. But she can see right back to where she started walking from- and it's been quite a long walk. Rin wonders absently what other parts of her have been altered for the sake of her dream world.

Focusing back on her audience, Rin is shocked to see them slowly advancing on her, their faces growing mad and tense. What is wrong with them? She backs away slowly, the sand sliding under her feet.

What is this? Frightened now, she shrieks when the sand gives under her foot, causing her to fall.

At the sound of her voice, the villagers lose their anger, and stop advancing.

Rin freezes on the ground, and the villagers begin to move again. She comes to a startling realization.

They want her voice.

Desperately, she begins to sing again. Her voice, now thin with fear, rises above the crowd, and they quiet, listening to her strained song.

Rin slowly stands, and starts to walk again, never stopping her song. She's decided that she doesn't like people after all, especially if they become like this when she sings. She might even prefer her parents' hatred of her voice compared to this creepy obsession.

She continues to sing as she walks along the beach, wondering where she will go next, wondering how she will ever get anything done while continuously singing. It was fun in the beginning, but it's getting boring now.

She hates boring.

Annoyed, she spins, and starts yelling at them. "Why won't you just leave me alone? Go away!"

Apparently, whether she's singing or screaming, they don't care, as long as some form of sound is coming from her mouth. They ignore her words and just stand there, entranced by the sound of her voice.

Her lip curls, and she mutters, "I should just find some way to kill myself."

It's a dream, after all, and if she dies, she just wakes up. That was kind of how it happened last time, right? And even if it wasn't, that was how it usually worked in books and movies and stuff.

Still singing quietly, Rin looks around the beach. There's nothing. Nothing at all, except sand and waves. Nothing she can use to kill herself.

She glances back at the people. Do they have anything?

She yells out "Does anyone have a weapon I can use?"

The nearest villager- a tall man, with shockingly blue hair- hands her a gun. She's faintly surprised. She hadn't expected them to actually listen this time. Hopefully, she says, "Could you guys leave?"

They don't. She curses under her breath. That's kind of annoying.

Well, they won't be annoying her for long. She lifts the gun and points it at her forehead. It's the easiest for her, since she needs both hands to heft the weapon.

Who knew a gun would be so heavy?

Her arms tremble. Her eyes have crossed as she tries to keep track of the point of the gun. She's scared, she realizes. Scared of death.

She's stopped singing now, and the villagers are growing restless. It's now or never.

She shuts her eyes, and hears the shot, but feels no pain as her body keels over into the sand.

* * *

_Rin bolted upright, glaring at the door. "Jesus, Len, you scared the heck out of me!"_

_Her twin stared levelly at her from the doorway. He had opened the door forcefully, causing it to bang against the wall, creating the sharp noise that had woken Rin up. "Rin, were you asleep?"_

_"Yes!" she cried out, annoyed. "And you woke me up!"_

_He looked at her oddly. "…Rin, have you been asleep since we got home from school? Are you really that tired?"_

_She flushed, knowing that exhaustion had nothing to do with her nap. "Yeah, I don't know why, I was just really tired today. But after sleeping a bit, I feel fine now."_

_"Sleeping a bit? Rin, you've been asleep for 4 hours. It's dinnertime."_

_Inwardly, she swore. Only four hours?_

_Sometimes, she wished she could just go to sleep and never wake up again. Her dream world was so much more interesting than the boredom in the real world. _

_But of course, that was impossible. Sighing, Rin clambered out of bed, __brushing __futilely at her crumpled uniform. In retrospect, sleeping in it wasn't the best idea, but then again hindsight was always 20-20, right?_

_Shaking her head, she went downstairs for dinner._

_Thank goodness it was Friday. She wouldn't have to wake up early tomorrow or the day after, so she would be able to sleep more now._

_A longer sleep meant a longer dream, right?_

_Len turned to say something, but stopped at the sight of Rin's terrifying smile._

_Something was wrong. He didn't know what yet, but something was very, very wrong…_

* * *

A/N: Rin has troll logic! O.o I know I don't quite understand her reasoning, despite being the one to write it…  
And the Second Alice comes to an end… Rin is about to venture into the realm of the third Alice. What now…?


	3. Chapter 3

Rin blinks at the sky above her. It's so blue, she thinks, so impossibly purely blue. She could watch this beautiful shade of blue all day.

But, when the words start sweeping across the sky once again, she ignores it completely, this time just sitting in the middle of the field and thinking hard.

She's failed twice to make a perfect dream world for herself. That's not very good, now is it? Rin is absolutely determined to succeed this time.

There has to be some way. Obviously, the people of this world cannot be tampered with. She needs to coexist with them somehow.

But she hates people! She's never alone. There's always someone around. She wanted to be alone in this dream world, where by all rights she should be alone. But even here, she can't escape society.

Her lip curls. People have always been getting in her way. And in her dream, it's no different.

There has to be something she can do to make them bearable. But what?

Rin thinks. What else does she hate, other than people? Well, she recently discovered that she hates the light as well. And noise. She can deal with those two on her own, though.

But why do it herself? There's a whole dream world full of people. Rin can use them to help her deal with it. And, if she does it right, they won't even seem like people anymore. More like… helpful maid robots or something.

She giggles at the thought. Maid robots. That would be cool. But how is she going to manage that?

Singing got them to follow her orders, to a certain extent, but Rin isn't willing to sing forever. She needs to find a way to get them to listen to her without her actually needing to do anything.

She bites her lip, thinking. She can always just try again, right? She might as well just head into town (or any other civilization, if the town is still full of those crazy people) and see how it goes. Who knows? Perhaps the people are already programmed to be gracious to their Alice.

The moment she considers this, Rin spots the village in the distance. It's the same village as the one from last time, she can tell by the silhouette, and she shudders. "Any different villages?" she practically whines, begging whatever being in charge of this world to give her a different destination.

The village in the distance does not change, and Rin lets out a sigh. She would rather just sit here and relax in this field than enter that creepy village again.

She flops down onto her back, staring up at the sky once more. The word-clouds have already faded, leaving the sky a completely pure cartoon blue. It actually kind of reminds her of her own eyes, strangely enough. The sun in the corner is bright, but heatless, leaving the temperature at Rin's preferred weather. It's so beautiful here, she thinks. Even the nature is absolutely amazing, so much more interesting than in her own world. Even just lying here, with the grass waving about her, she can see so many plants that she could never name, as they didn't exist in her world.

Suddenly, she sneezes. Damn allergies. Regretfully, she sits up, knowing her allergies will only worsen if she remains in the grass.

She blinks, and suddenly, the village is right in front of her. Stupid world won't let her escape from it, it seems.

Rin sighs and resigns herself to entering the village. Besides, the grass is really making her allergies act up. Maybe she can find some medicine or something in the village?

Cautiously, she enters the village. The streets still seem very quiet, very empty. It's like a ghost town, and it's almost frightening. Rin bites her lip. She's not sure if she's scared because of the lack of people, or scared because they might appear.

Suddenly, a door opens. Rin spins around, and sees a beautiful green-haired girl standing in the doorway. The new person is wary, but seems friendly enough as she asks, "Hello, can I help you? You seem lost."

Rin is about to go away and ignore her, but then the memory of what happened last time flashes through her mind. It probably isn't a great idea to annoy the natives, she decides. "Yeah, I'm lost," she says. Then, she flashes the most brilliant smile she can muster. "Could you help me? I also need some medicine for my allergies…"

The woman seems slightly startled by the bright smile, and more at ease because of it. "A… Alright. I can take you to the apothecary if you'd like. Erm… might I ask your name?"

Rin smiles and opens her mouth, but instead of saying "I'm Rin," she responds with "I'm Alice."

Before she can consider what just happened, the woman's demeanor changes entirely. It's as though a switch was turned on- or off. Her back straightens, her chin lifts just the slightest bit, but her eyes go blank, completely dulled somehow. "I understand, Mistress," she says in a monotone. "How might I help you?"

Ok, so Rin had considered helpful maid robots, but she hadn't actually meant for it to happen! Oh well, she decides, sighing slightly. Since it _did_ happen, might as well test it out. "Um… I guess. I want some new clothes?" Her usual shorts and tank top are rather out of place in this world, and she would love to have some new clothes. Especially since this girl seems to have some really nice dresses…

The woman says, "Yes, Mistress." Then, to Rin's shock, she begins to strip right there in the street. By the time Rin thinks to react, the dress has already pooled around the woman's feet, and she's moving on to her underclothes.

"Stop!" Rin cries out, and the woman freezes.

"Of course, Mistress," she responds dully. She's in a completely odd position, with her arms crossed halfway across her body as though she's about to take off her undershirt- which, Rin supposes, she was.

Rin swallows and says slowly, "Put your clothes back on and go into the house."

As the woman nods and begins to redress herself, Rin thinks on the suddenly very, very heavy responsibility on her shoulders. It's the oddest thing, she decides, having complete power over a person. She's not sure if she likes it.

Rin follows the green-haired woman back into the house- and bumps into her. She literally stopped immediately after she entered the house. Rin fights the urge to slap her forehead, and instead decides to test something.

"Look, miss, my name is Rin. Not Alice." She says bluntly. And this time, there is no odd urge that causes her to say Alice instead of Rin. Her sentence comes out just as she wanted it.

And, just as she suspects, the woman blinks, and her eyes regain that bright spark. "…Oh? Why am I back in my house?" The woman glances at Rin, confusion clear in her expression. "I… did something happen?"

Rin just smiles. "Oh, nothing. By the way, I didn't catch your name…?"

The woman smiles back. "I'm Miku. Nice to meet you, Rin."

…How did the woman know Rin's name? She was a zombie when Rin had said it… but oh well. Deciding that it's not important- after all, there are many more oddities in this dream world- Rin follows the woman- Miku- as she heads toward the apothecary.

The man at the counter asks for payments. Rin digs through her pockets, but there is no currency in her pockets- not in the dream, at least. Miku looks devastated, and tries to bargain with the man, but he refuses to budge. He must have repayment for his medicine, or he will not part with his goods.

Completely fed up with the haggling- besides, not like she has any money on her- Rin then says slowly, "I'm Alice."

Both people get that glazed look on their faces, and Rin says sweetly, "Give me the medicine."

The man passes it over without a fuss.

"I'm Rin," she says then, and the moment passes. "Thank you very much for the medicine," she cheerfully says to the man as she turns to leave.

"You… you're welcome?" the man says, obviously disoriented. Miku, still fighting off the effects of the mind control, follows Rin obediently without noticing anything odd.

Rin ignores both, and looks down at the medicine she received. It's a small, glass bottle, labelled with "Allergy Medicine. May cause drowsiness." Rin sighs- she doesn't really want to fall asleep in this world- but there's no help for it. Her allergies are causing her eyes to itch something fierce, and her nose is starting to run.

She turns to Miku, contemplates using her "Alice" as she's decided to call it now, but suspects that she can get what she wants without it. "Miku, can I borrow a bed?" she asks. If it doesn't work, then she can try her "Alice" on Miku again.

"Oh, of course! Feel free to sleep as long as you'd like, I have another bed." Miku generously tells her.

Rin goes to the room as directed by Miku, flops into the surprisingly soft bed, and gulps the small bottle of medicine. Within minutes, she is asleep, and completely lost to this world.

* * *

_Rin awoke, feeling more disoriented than ever before. Hadn't she only just fell asleep in Miku's bed?_

_Then she realized that she was back in her own room, with her familiar posters on her wall, her own comfortable blanket. Somehow, it wasn't quite as comfortable as Miku's bed, she thought. _

_Rin blinked blearily at the clock, which told her 7:00AM. She fought the urge to swear- what happened to a longer sleep on weekends? Glancing at her school bag, Rin decided that she might as well do her homework now, since she was awake. If she managed to finish it earlier, she could potentially sleep all the way until the next morning!_

_Elated at the thought of such a long rest, she scrambled for her bag. Time to get things done!_

* * *

A/N: And so the third Alice goes. Few more chapters on the third Alice. There's a timeskip!

Anyways, read on~


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: M-rated scene coming up! Please proceed with caution.

Rin awakes as usual in Miku's bed. It's been a while since she started to come to this world, but she finds herself spending more and more time here.

The people here are so much nicer, so much more accepting of Rin. She doesn't even have to use Alice to get people to give her what she wants; generally, she needs only to smile, and the townspeople soften and give her a discount, or hand her a little extra, or just give her a gift.

Once in a while, however, Rin still finds herself needing to use her Alice. Only once in a while though.

Miku enters the room, smiling. "Oh, Rin! You're awake!"

Rin wonders what Miku is thinking. Ever since Rin came to this world, she has pretty much taken over Miku's house, and pretty much made Miku into a slave. She wonders if she has overstayed her welcome.

Somehow, Rin doesn't want to impose on Miku. Yes, the townspeople are nice, but Miku is, quite honestly, Rin's first true friend, in this world or the last one. And Rin really doesn't want to lose that.

"Um… Miku?" Rin ventures, feeling nervous. "I… do you ever feel like I'm taking advantage of your kindness?"

Miku seems genuinely surprised by the question. "Of course not! It's been so long since I've had someone to talk to regularly. Besides, you give me just as much as I give you. I think our relationship is fine just the way it is!"

Slightly mollified, but still unsure, Rin nods. "I… if you feel that way, then I guess it's ok…" But privately, Rin resolves to give more to Miku. The lovely girl deserves far more than what she has here.

It's odd though. Now that Rin thinks about it... Miku never quite seems to have enough food to sustain herself, but she has such lovely clothes. It makes Rin wonder. Where did Miku get the clothes from? Or rather, why doesn't she sell them for food?

"Anyways," Miku says, smiling slightly nervously, "I need to go work… we're out of money for food."

Rin wants to curse. Miku is definitely far, far too poor, when she deserves so much more. Those lovely dresses don't disguise the fact that Miku is pale and thin, tired and overworked. "I… do you want me to help?"

"No, no, it's fine!" laughing lightly, Miku waves off Rin's offer. But Rin suspects there's something else going on. It's just something about the tilt of her head, a flicker in her eyes. "Just relax, I'll be back in a few hours."

Miku's hiding something, but for some reason, Rin is certain that it's not out of malice. Miku is trying to… protect her?

Rin smiled cheerfully. "Ok!" she concedes. "I'll clean the house while you're gone!"

"Oh, you don't have to…" But of course, they go through this routine on almost a daily basis. Miku knows better than to try and out-stubborn Rin. Instead, she accepts gratefully. "Thank you though. I'll be going now."

"See you!" Rin waves cheerfully.

The instant she hears the door shut, Rin is on the move.

From her upstairs window, she watches as Miku walks, unhurried, toward the centre of town. She turns, and Rin races out the door, memorizing carefully which road Miku turned down.

As Rin turns the same corner, she sees the faraway head of green hair- Miku is already turning again. Rin chases after her, tension tightening in her gut. That is not the way to the marketplace, nor is it a route to any places with respectable work. As far as Rin knows… this is a path to a bad part of town.

Miku's pace slows, as though she is more and more unwilling to go forward. Rin slows her own pace accordingly- it wouldn't do for Miku to discover her presence now.

Without Rin fully noticing, the buildings have become dingier, the alleyways narrower, the people less well-dressed, more wary. Miku's hand has reached into the folds of her dress, where Rin knows she keeps a knife. Rin's own fingers brush reassuringly against a smaller knife of her own, hidden safely in her sleeve. This is a dangerous area indeed.

Miku stops before a building, and looks up at it with trepidation, with hesitation, with resignation. She shuts her eyes, takes a deep breath, and enters.

The sign above the door is a bright, glaring neon, with the words "Madame Maxime's Mansion of Merriment". Rin has no doubt that it is an euphemism.

Rage boils within her as she realizes what Miku is doing. What she has done. What she probably has needed to do more often now- because of Rin's continued presence in her house.

There has to be something that Rin can do to help Miku. She wants to take the pressure of Miku's shoulders. She wants to help her out of this mess.

She wants to give Miku the rule over this village. She wants to give Miku the world.

Rin barges right into the "Mansion", curling her lip at the gaudy decorations. Someone sees her enter, and tries to stop her, but Rin announces loudly, "I'm Alice. Everyone freeze." And everyone does.

Undeterred, Rin strides through the entrance hall, pausing only to ask someone, "Where is Miku?" Still under the Alice's influence, the woman answers in a monotone, and Rin is off again.

She strides through the complex, passing rooms with moans of pleasure, smacks of flesh against flesh. As she passes, she continues her mantra- "I'm Alice. Freeze."

The noises stop, leaving the halls silent- save for one door at the very end. Grunts of pleasure, and a thin, soft voice that gasps in pain every so often. Harsh, low pants, and a sudden, high-pitched cry.

Rin tries the doorknob. It's locked. She growls, then kicks the door hard. The flimsy door breaks, and she enters.

"I'm Alice. Freeze." The man stops, still halfway in Miku. Miku's face is frozen too, stuck in a position of pain, self-hate, horror.

"Pull out," Rin orders, shuddering despite herself at the cold words. The man does.

"Stand," she tells Miku, her voice substantially softer. Miku does, not even a hint of pain now as her face goes blank.

"Get dressed," she tells both of them. They do.

"Do not listen to my next command, Miku." Rin says. She's not sure if it will work, but she can try.

Rin takes a deep breath, turns to the man. "Go die," she says with finality.

It's not the first time she's said those words, but it's the first time she's actually meant them. Usually it's just "Oh, you beat me on a test?" or "Dammit, stop KSing me!" but this time, Rin means it wholeheartedly. This man deserves to die after what he did to Miku.

The man nods, and leaves in his Alice-induced stupor.

Miku hasn't moved. Rin supposes this is a good sign. "Miku, where can I announce something the entire village will hear?" she asks.

"The bell tower of the church," Miku replies in a monotone.

"Lead me there." Rin supposes she is abusing her Alice. She doesn't really care. Anything to change Miku's life for the better.

They arrive, and Rin glances around. Good enough for her purposes, she supposes. Taking a deep breath, she yells at the top of her lungs. "I'm Alice! Gather at the front door of the church!"

Miku turns to follow the orders, but Rin grips her arm. "Not you, Miku. Stay here."

And Miku does.

The townspeople gather, and Rin glances at Miku. "Is this everyone?"

"Yes," she replies.

Rin looks down. "Listen everyone!" she yells. "You now have a new ruler. You must obey Queen Miku's every order."

There is no visible change in the townspeople, so Rin decides to test this. "Miku, first, you are allowed to disobey your own orders. Second, please order the townspeople to dance."

"Dance," Miku says dully.

And they do.

Rin nods. "Stop dancing," she yells. But the townspeople don't. It seems that Miku's power over them is now stronger than Rin's- at least directly.

"Miku, tell them to stop dancing and listen to me."

And she does- and they do.

"Go back to your normal personalities and lives, but always listen to Miku. Dismissed!" Rin yells.

The townspeople blink, seeming to return to their former selves. But there is a faint glint in their eyes that Rin recognizes. It's the mark of the Alice- they're still under its influence, since Rin hasn't released them yet.

But she can release Miku. "I'm Rin," she whispers, only for Miku's ears. And Miku blinks, and comes back to life.

"I… Rin!" she gasps, colour draining out of her face. "What… you… did you see…"

Rin smiles faintly. "Don't worry, Miku." She says. "You don't need to work there any more."

"But, Rin… I don't have money for food- for anything-"

"Miku, you will now. Just ask the townspeople for anything you want. They will obey your every order."

Miku sounds scared now. "Rin… what have you done? What _are_ you?"

"I'm still who I always have been. I'm Rin!" she says, trying to hide her fear. Her fear of Miku leaving her.

"Rin…" Miku still looks frightened, but she seems to have calmed down slightly. "I don't know…"

"Trust me," Rin says. "You deserve to have this. You deserve to have this power."

Rin smiles softly, then says, "Um… can I borrow your bed again? I'm feeling rather tired…"

And indeed, she does. It seems that using her Alice drains her energy when used on such a large scale.

But Miku is still uncertain. "Rin, this isn't right. Nobody should have such things for free. I should still be working for my keep…"

Rin is tired of this. Tired as she is, she still looks Miku right in the eye and says, "I'm Alice. Accept your position as ruler, and resume your normal personality."

Miku blinks, but that faint glint in her eyes remains. Rin asks, "Will you ask the villagers for whatever you need?"

"Yes," Miku smiles. "Now, Alice, I believe you mentioned you were tired?"

A pang goes through Rin's heart. Now she will never hear Miku call her name again. But it's worth it to give Miku everything she wants.

"Yes, Miku. Thank you." She follows Miku home, and falls into a deep sleep.

* * *

_Rin awoke, feeling exhausted. The energy drain must have carried over into her own world. Yawning, she glanced at her alarm clock. To her surprise, it was 6:30am- just half an hour before her usual waking time. She decided to just get up anyways. Not like she could go back to sleep for half an hour._

_She opened the door to the washroom, and gasped in shock at seeing the blue, blue sky of her dream. "What…" she whispered._

_Then she realized it wasn't the sky. It was Len's eyes._

_"God, Len, you scared me!" she said, clutching at her heart. "Why are you up so early?"_

_"I could ask the same of you," he replied, narrowing his eyes at her. "I would have thought you'd sleep in. Again."_

_Rin sighed. "Geez, Len, sorry I'm always late! But what, now I can't get up early?"_

_Len shrugged. "I guess I was just surprised. Anyways, bathroom's all yours." He left._

_Rin entered the bathroom and started her usual morning ablutions. Halfway through rinsing her face, she glanced up at the mirror._

_Staring back at her was an old, old lady, with wrinkled skin and thin, white hair. Against a backdrop of purest blue, the crone reaches a gnarled hand out to Rin, as if wanting to grab her, steal her life-_

_Rin screamed, and heard her parents come running. As their footsteps came nearer, the old lady began to fade, the blue sky becoming transparent._

_The last thing Rin saw before she fainted was the door opening, and a pair of blue, blue eyes- the crone's eyes- her own._

* * *

A/N: And Miku has taken over as the ruler! But the third Alice has yet to run its course… the madness still awaits!


	5. Chapter 5

Rin gasps as she awakes once more. She's nearly hyperventilating as she gets out of the bed. She's certain the image in the mirror has something to do with this world- that blue sky can't be a coincidence.

Her first thought is of Miku. Is she ok?

Rin races through the house, searching frantically for Miku. Something has gone terribly, terribly wrong.

Miku isn't in the house. Rin tears out of the small place and into the village.

People are still milling about, just as normal. But something is off.

Someone bumps into her, and Rin fights the sudden urge to scream.

Somehow, in the course of the few minutes Rin has been gone from this world, the people have aged years. Actually, it's not so much aging as just… rotting. Even the children have become wrinkled and gray.

Swallowing hard, Rin searches for Miku with greater haste. There must be something she can do.

"Miku!" she screams. "Where is Miku?"

The townspeople around her turn as one and point to the church. As they do so, they age again- just a bit, but a visible change.

Rin realizes it is her Alice that has made them like this. "I'm Rin!" she cries desperately. "I'm Rin!"

But their eyes do not change. It appears that leaving them under the Alice's control when she leaves has locked them into a permanent state. There is nothing she can do.

But then that means…

Rin sprints and enters the church. "Miku!" she gasps out.

There is a skeleton sitting at the altar. Rin ignores it, looking frantically around. "Miku!" she cries again.

She is about to go up to the bell tower when she hears Miku's voice. "Alice? Back so soon?"

Rin spins around, trying to place the voice. "Miku? Where are you?"

"I'm right here, Alice. Don't you recognize me?"

With horror, Rin realizes the skeleton is wearing the dress Miku was when she left. "No…" she whispers.

"Alice, do you see what you have wrought?"

It's Miku's voice speaking, her terrible terrible voice, and Rin can't bear it. "Stop!" she cries out. "Please, stop this, Miku! I'm Rin!"

Despite the results she saw earlier, Rin tries again. Miku just laughs. "Oh, Alice… foolish, foolish Alice. This world you have created… this kingdom you have given me to rule… is it not beautiful? We are all immortal. Aged, rotting, yes, but immortal."

Miku reaches out a skeletal hand. It has the same grace as the former human, but it seems nothing but a mockery of Miku now. "Ah, Alice, won't you join us in our kingdom?"

"No!" Rin screams. "Stay away from me!" It hurts to say this to Miku- but then, this is no longer Miku. It is nothing but a ghost, a reminder of what Rin has done. A reminder of the friend she has lost through her own terrible deeds.

"But Alice… you are the key to my kingdom… I want you here… beside me…"

"NO!" Rin screams again, and turns. Behind her, she hears Miku order, "Catch her!" And Rin knows she can't order the people to go against Miku.

Rin runs back into Miku's house, shuts and bars the door, barricades it with every piece of furniture she can find. She sprints upstairs back to the bed, just as the villagers begin to pound on the door. Rin tries desperately to fall asleep before they enter, but her heart is pumping too quickly, the adrenaline is racing through her system too quickly for her to sleep.

Frantically, she remembers her second entrance into this kingdom. Death doesn't kill her, she remembers. It ends her current attempt, but she will wake all the same.

There is a gun on Miku's bookshelf. It's the same gun, Rin thinks. Or at least the same make. She doesn't know why it's there, but it is. And Rin reaches for it.

Just as the villagers break through, Rin aims the gun once again, and fires.

_Somehow, Rin thought, it was easier this time to kill herself. _

_She opened her eyes in the hospital. She wasn't sure how long she spent in the dream, but from the looks of things, her family wasn't able to wake her up, and rushed her to emergency. _

_Sighing, Rin glanced around her. The white, white walls reminded her of her prison of light, so long ago. She had to get out._

_The nurses weren't there. Rin ran out the door._

_It was a surreal feeling, racing through this sterilized white place wearing nothing but a flowy white gown and searching for a white exit to lead her to a coloured world. _

_Of course, it's not that easy. A doctor turned the corner, and saw Rin. The doctor cried, "Stop!" and began to chase after Rin in her black stilettos._

_Rin could run faster, of course, but she was still tired- so tired- from using her Alice. Her only option was to hide._

_She sprinted, turned a few corners, and ducked into the first room she saw._

_It was a washroom, and Rin breathed a sigh of relief. The walls were a light yellow- at least they weren't white any more. She stepped to the sink, hoping to splash some water onto her face._

_But the mirror called her, and despite herself, despite her new fear, she glanced up._

_The skeleton stared back at her. "Join me," the skeleton whispered._

_Rin shut her eyes, snarled, "I said NO, Miku!"_

_"Who said I was Miku?" the skeleton cackled back. Rin's eyes opened, and she stared in horror._

_The skeleton is wearing her white gown._

_Screaming, Rin grabs a decorative plant pot and flings it at the mirror. The mirror shatters, the skeleton disappears. Rin relaxes and reaches to brush her hair out of her face- and freezes._

_Her hand is nothing but bones._

_She screams again. Why, why, why has this happened? She didn't… it wasn't possible-_

_The mirror shards on the ground still reflect her face- her skull. "Join me, Alice…" they whisper, a thousand demonic voices that only she can hear. _

_She covers her ears. "No, no, stop, please, stop, STOP!" _

_She grabs a shard from the floor. The glimmer of glass whispers, "Join me…" the skeletal hand it's clutched in tightens. Rin shrieks madly as she begins to cut. The bones are everywhere. She must cleanse herself of the skeletons. Everywhere…_

_The shards are covered in red as Rin slumps to the floor, her world going dark at last._

* * *

_Len bit his lip. The atmosphere in the car was gloomy. _

_They had all known something was wrong with Rin. They just hadn't known how serious it was until she collapsed today._

_In some ways, Len blames himself. Rin is his twin, he should have been able to figure out what was wrong. She had been sleeping so much, even though she was never tired, and she kept wanting to sleep more…_

_She also began hating light and noise, and became more and more antisocial… Len couldn't figure it out. Why had Rin been acting so weirdly?_

_Suddenly, a sharp pain erupts in his wrist, and Len gasps. His mother turns from the shotgun seat. "Len? Honey, what's wrong?"_

_"I… It hurts…" he chokes out- and then suddenly, he's spewing blood. _

_The gash on his throat isn't helping matters much either._

_The last thing Len hears before his world goes dark is his mother's horrified scream._

* * *

A/N: So, the real world- the italicized part- is starting to be corrupted by the dream world, hence the change in tense when Rin attacks the mirror and when Len starts to bleed. We're almost done, hang in there! Last chapter! Go go go!


	6. Chapter 6

Rin wakes up in her field. The clouds are still that sickening white, the sky that sickening blue. She raises a hand to block the sun- and freezes.

Her hand is flesh again- not bone.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she flops over onto her stomach- only to roll into something else.

She's never had that happen before. She jerks upright, scooting backwards from the potentially dangerous thing.

It's Len.

She blinks. What in the world… "Len…?" she says cautiously. She wonders if he is real, or just another figment of her imagination, as all the people in this world must be.

"Is that you? Len?" she asks again. But of course, a figment of her imagination would still say yes.

He stirs, and slowly opens his eyes. Impossibly blue eyes, of the same shade as the sky, stare back at her. "Rin…?" he whispers, looking confused. Then his eyes widen. "Rin! You… you're supposed to be in the hospital! And I…" he looks down. "What… what happened?"

"I don't know… how did you manage to get here?" she asks instead.

"Here?" Len asks. Then he finally looks around him. "What the hell?"

So, Len doesn't know where he is. Rin decides she can tell him. "This is where I've been visiting in my sleep. This is why I sleep so much recently."

Len starts. "Wait, this is your _dream_? Then why am I here?"

She shrugs. "'Cause you're my twin? How should I know?"

He sighs. "So how do I get out? Last time I checked, I was bleeding randomly from some invisible attacks. Mom and Dad must be freaking right now."

"Invisible… wow, that's weird." Rin mutters. "Well, as far as I know, the only way to get out of this world is to either fall asleep, or die. I think anything that makes you lose consciousness gets you out."

"Wait, die? But that's…" Len starts to protest.

Rin just laughs. "Oh, don't worry. It's like a video game. Sleeping or falling unconscious is like saving. When you die in this world, it's like starting a new game." Even though she says this, she feels uneasy. If that was the case, why had she still been seeing skeletons back in her own world?

"So, we just have to fall asleep? Sounds easy enough," Len mutters, and flops onto his back. "See you in the real world, Rin."

She nods, still uncertain. "See you, Len."

They sleep.

* * *

_Rin and Len lay on adjacent beds, their heart monitors beeping at regular intervals. Their parents wrung their hands outside. _

_It was impossibly hard, having one daughter suddenly fall unconscious, and then their son going into shock from a sudden loss of blood. They couldn't understand what had happened._

_Their door opened, and their heads snapped up. A nurse stepped out, looking haggard and worn._

_"What happened?" Mrs. Kagamine asked fearfully. The man looked at her solemnly._

_"They've gone into a coma," he said quietly. "We're doing everything we can to bring them back, but there's no guarantee."_

_She fell limply back into her chair, and sobbed silently into her husband's shoulder as the doctors continued their work._

* * *

"We've tried everything!" Len yells. "Rin, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know!" she cries desperately. "That was always how I got out before!"

"So we've tried sleeping, knocking each other unconscious, choking ourselves into unconsciousness… allergic reactions, even entering that creepy town and using sleeping pills-" Rin shudders at the memory. It seems that the town has reset- or perhaps it's a different town- but at least it wasn't filled with skeletons.

"Yeah, we've tried pretty much everything. I guess the only thing left… is to try dying." Rin says quietly.

Len goes quiet at the statement. He knows it's the only way left, but he doesn't want to admit it. "What if… what if it goes wrong?" he whispers.

"Well, being dead would be better than being trapped in this world!" she says resolutely. "I want out!"

"I… I guess." Len murmurs. He doesn't want to stay here any longer either. "So… how do we do this?"

Rin shrugs now. "I usually find a gun lying around somewhere."

It sounds like she's done this so many times before. Len is somewhat disconcerted by her casual statement. "O… kay. So where?"

She shivers. "I suppose we'll have to go into town again. That's where I usually find them."

Len nods, and they start to head toward town- but a forest springs up. Rin groans. "Do we have to?" she whines, as though it would change things.

Len sighs. "I guess we have to pass through this."

Rin seems uneasy, but Len is fine with this. The forest is a new place for him, and he enjoys the quiet scenery, even if it is a bit eerie how quiet it is.

Suddenly, he sees a glimmer of light in the distance. "Rin, I think I see the end of the forest." He tugs on her arm, but Rin resists slightly.

"I… I think it's a bad idea to go that way…" she whispers. "I'm getting a bad feeling…"

Len frowns. "Rin, come on! We have to get out of this dream. I don't want Mom and Dad to worry any more."

"All… all right…" Rin says at last. But she stays behind Len as they continue towards the light.

Suddenly, Len lets out a horrible cry. Rin gasps as he falls to the ground. He clutches the wound in his stomach and stares up at their attacker- at Rin. "Rin," he chokes out- and then he's gone.

* * *

_Len's heart monitor flatlines, and the doctors become frantic. Outside, Mr. Kagamine's hand clenches around his wife's. Oh, his poor son. He can only hope his daughter doesn't face the same fate._

* * *

Rin backs away from the maniac killer- from _herself_- and runs. Behind her, she hears a terrible shriek as a flash of bright light illuminates everything.

Hyperventilating by now, Rin reaches the edge of the forest- and sees a village. _The_ village. The skeletal townspeople are congregated at the entrance, waiting for her.

She blinks, and, in the way of the dream, she is at the entrance of the village. The townspeople surround her, and Miku- oh, Miku- is right in front of her.

"Join me, Alice…" Miku whispers.

Rin is tired. She is tired of this dream, she is tired of life, she is tired of running away.

She doesn't resist as Miku reaches out for her, as the townspeople claim her as one of their own.

* * *

_Only minutes after Len's heart stopped, Rin's followed suit. The doctors tried their best, but even they admitted defeat after half an hour of continuous CPR and defibrillation. They exited the room, glance guiltily at the married couple sitting outside, and murmured empty condolences._

_There is nothing left to do but grieve._

* * *

A/N: And we're done! Weak ending, sorry, but I just wanted it over with. Any comments, criticisms, and/or random rants are more than welcome!


End file.
